A system for wireless bidirectional communications, such as cellular telephone systems, typically includes a host unit which communicates with a base transceiver station (BTS) associated with one or more service providers that supply communication services for mobile subscribers. The host unit in turn is coupled, via coaxial cable or fiber optic connections, or radio frequency (RF) links, to one or more remote units which house the electronic and antenna systems used for wirelessly transmitting and receiving voice and/or data communications for subscribers of the service providers. A remote unit is often referred to as a radio head. These host units and remote units are commonly referred to together as a Distributed Antenna System (DAS). The simplest distributed antenna systems currently consist of one host unit and one remote unit, or one host unit and multiple remote units. In all systems, the operating frequency of all units is frequency-locked to a Master Clock. In a single host unit environment there is only one source for the Master Clock. That source is the single host. Further, if the single host unit is lost, the network is broken and no part of it can function. Multiple-host unit systems are also under consideration. In a multi-host unit environment, it can be uncertain as to which host unit is providing the Master Clock for the system, and if a host unit providing the Master Clock goes down, how other parts of the network can remain in operation.
For the reasons stated above and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the specification, there is a need in the art for systems and methods for providing a Master Clock for a distributed antenna system with multiple host units.